Mesothelioma Law Firm - Donate car to charity California

  • 8 years ago
The earliest automobiles recorded were actually steam engines attached to wagons in the late 18th century. The steam engines were heavy and therefore the wagon was slow and hard to control. Better and faster steam cars became common late in the 19th century.

Some cars in the early 20th century were powered by electricity. They were slow and heavy and went out of use until the idea came back later in the century.

The internal combustion engine changed the way automobiles were powered. The engine used either gasoline, diesel, or kerosene to work. When the gas is exploded in a cylinder it pushes the piston down and turns the wheel.

Although many people tried to make a good car that would work well and sell well, people say that Karl Benz invented the modern automobile. He used a four-stroke type of internal combustion engine to power his "Motorwagen". He began to make many cars in a factory and sell them in 1888.

In North America, the first modern car was made by the Duryea Brothers in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Duryea Brothers' car also won the first-ever car race in 1895, competing against cars made by Benz. The race was in Chicago, Illinois, and 53 miles long. Duryea then began making the first automobiles for everyday people to use in 1896. That year they made 13 cars by hand in Springfield, Massachusetts.


The Ford Model T was the first car sold at a price most could afford to pay
Benz may have invented the first modern car, and Duryea the first car to sell, but Henry Ford sold the most cars to the most people. In 1910 he began making and selling his Model T, which was a huge success. Many people could afford this car, not just the rich, because Ford used mass production. This meant he made a great many Model Ts in a short time in a factory. People say that the Model T is the car that "put America on wheels". The Model T was the most popular car of the time because it was cheap but it was still a good quality car that ordinary people could own.

Since then, many different kinds of cars have been designed and built, from minivans to sports cars.

In the 1950s the United States made and used more cars than all the rest of the world. The world caught up, and fifty years later China became the largest maker and user.